Brexit: Johnson humiliated as MPs deny him an election

BORIS Johnson was humiliated in the Commons yesterday after MPs rejected his second plea for a snap general election.

It was another dramatic day in Westminster with the session, the last until October 14, running until the early hours of this morning.

Other key developments included the resignation of the Speaker John Bercow, the passage of the Bill mandating the Prime Minister to ask for a Brexit extension, and MPs protesting the prorogation.

But the most upsetting for the Tory leader will almost certainly have been the Commons voting to order Downing Street to hand over secret messages from his advisers about suspending Parliament.

The former attorney general, Dominic Grieve, passed an emergency motion that will force Johnson to publish information he’d rather have kept private.

The Government will now have to release controversial Operation Yellowhammer documents, prepared in recent months, which set out preparations for a No-Deal Brexit.

The motion, known as a humble address to the Queen, also means Downing Street has until 11pm tomorrow to publish messages relating to the prorogation of Parliament sent by Johnson’s senior adviser Cummings and various other aides.

MPs specifically asked for messages sent on WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Facebook messenger, by private email – both encrypted and unencrypted – and messages on official and personal mobile phones.

Grieve told the Commons he had tabled the motion after being approached by a whistleblower who told him “they believed the handling of this matter smacked of scandal”.

A Downing Street spokesman said the scope of information requested was “disproportionate and unprecedented”.

He said: “The Government is committed to sharing appropriate information with Parliament, but we must balance this obligation with the broader public interest, our legal duties and the assurance that ministers can receive full and frank advice that will remain confidential. The scope of the information requested in the humble address is disproportionate and unprecedented.”

Another emergency motion lodged by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn simply demanded the Government obey the law.

It came as the Queen gave the legislation on extending the Article 50 process Royal Assent yesterday afternoon.

That new law mandates Johnson to send a letter to Brussels on October 19 asking for a delay, unless he either manages to secure a new deal with the EU or secure Parliament’s backing for a No Deal.

Corbyn said he tabled the motion on “behalf of the people of this country who want to live in a democratic society where the Government abide by the rule of law”.

Speaking in the debate, the SNP’s Ian Blackford said: “The rule book has been well and truly ripped up, and with it democracy and decency shredded by a cult of Brexit fanboys in No 10 unfit and unwilling to govern.

“What a despicable state of affairs, that an unelected bureaucrat – the Prime Minister’s lead advisor, is sitting in No 10 devising and directing an assault on democracy, preventing parliamentary scrutiny and transparency.”

Writing in the London Evening Standard, the former Scottish Tory leader, said the Prime Minister’actions could prove “short-sighted”.

Davidson said the party was alienating Remain voters while chasing Leave backing constituencies.

“It’s a pretty big risk,” she wrote “especially when, according to YouGov, 39% of regular Conservative voters voted Remain at the Brexit referendum – and it is unclear how many more who voted Leave did so in the full expectation that the process would be managed and a deal agreed.

“Last week’s sackings do nothing to reassure them that the Conservative Party is still their home.”

Less than a fortnight ago, as se announced her resignation, Davidson insisted she supported Johnson’s approach to Brexit.

The party in Scotland is in trouble, with many members unhappy at Johnson’s administrations.

That unhappiness has seen renewed talk of a more autonomous Scottish centre-right party, wholly separate from the UK Tories.

However, a group of activists have established Scottish Conservatives Together to protest any plans for Tory independence.

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